After she’d settled Amy in a lounger at the pool, doused with sunscreen and a book in her hand, Merissa stood to leave. The excuse she offered was a walk on the deck, knowing that activity would raise no red flags for the unsuspecting Amy. Merissa scoured each floor, from bow to stern, and when she arrived on the sixth floor and did not find Chad moping in the computer room, she headed for the staterooms. Surely they were not hiding out.
She was wrong. On the first knock the television shut off and after a loud second knock, Chad answered the door.
“Hello, Merissa.”
She glanced on the single bed and saw Skip. “Are you two planning on staying inside your room for the rest of the trip?”
“Feeling under the weather. Having some downtime,” Chad said. He never met her gaze. He was lying to her face and Merissa couldn’t hold back the bold response.
“Today symbolizes the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Maybe you should use some of your time in the Word instead of sulking.” Merissa did not allow Chad time for a comeback. Her sole purpose in coming was to save Amy from a broken heart. She leveled her gaze at Skip. “Could you tear yourself away and meet me in the lounge down the hall? I want to talk to you.” Merissa turned on her heels and marched away.
She settled into a chair and calmed her racing heart. Merissa prayed for wisdom on how to handle this confusion that was tearing them all apart. The North Pole provided no miracles, only sprinkles of magic dust that enticed and puzzled everyone concerned.
A few minutes later, Skip joined her. He sat down on the edge of his seat. “What can I do for you, Merissa?”
She planned to fish it out of him. He needn’t know that she’d been eavesdropping yesterday. “You can tell me why you’ve deserted my best friend and left her wondering what game you’re playing?”
“Amy, is she okay?”
“You tell me. She had a terrific time yesterday and you ignore her all evening and this morning. I’m running out of excuses to calm her.”
“Never meant to abandon her. It’s Chad. Got himself all mad, and I’m left babysitting him.”
“Chad is mad? At what?”
Merissa watched Skip squirm. “Well, he finally got it through his head that it wasn’t me that paid for the tickets for this cruise, and now he’s all mad about what that could mean.”
“And what could that mean? Maybe his parents gave him an early Christmas gift, so he’d slow down at work. Did he think of that?” Merissa asked.
“It’s complicated. The tickets came in the mail – from the North Pole.”
Merissa’s smile was weak. “Maybe his mother is playing Mrs. Claus?”
Skip looked intently at Merissa. “Suppose. But if she did, then she must have handpicked you and Amy for us too. I saw the exact manila envelope in your stateroom. Do you not find that peculiar?”
Merissa gulped back the fear of the confrontation. Only fear of the Lord was an acceptable response – never would she bow again to the terror that paralyzed her to the spot. She did not have the answers Skip sought, but today, they needed to settle this misunderstanding.
“I don’t claim to understand how or why you received your envelope, but for Amy’s sake, I will tell you how I received mine. My fiancé purchased this Christmas cruise for us as a honeymoon gift. He gave it to me the day he died.” Merissa took a deep breath and continued. “A few weeks later in a fit of anger, I took the entire contents and shredded it, swearing I would never go on this vacation without him.”
“But you are here, with Amy?”
“I’m not finished my story. Months later, I received in the mail the same manila envelope –in one piece and in good standing with the cruise lines. I most likely would have ignored it had Amy not been there when it arrived. She talked me into coming, to start living again.”
“Chad mentioned that you said a final goodbye to your boyfriend. He thought everything was on the up and up and then I blew it yesterday by convincing him I didn’t pay for the tickets. You see, they arrived in his mailbox much the same way yours did. He assumed the gift was all my doing, and since the vacation had a Christmas theme, he couldn’t refuse. I stopped trying to convince him otherwise – until I saw your envelope and drew all the wrong conclusions.”
“Such as?”
“You don’t need to know.” Skip looked uncomfortable in his skin.
“You think I sent two complete strangers tickets. For what purpose?” Merissa did not wait for him to answer. “Perhaps you should be the one trying to convince me you two were not the senders of my envelope. I personally find it difficult to believe the North Pole glued the pieces together to return my honeymoon gift – without the husband.”
Skip whistled. “See where that might be a hard pill to swallow.”
“Very hard. But I relinquished my hesitation and came to enjoy myself. I have – until now. I do not care what you think of me, I only care that you know Amy is a wonderful person and should think twice before you throw her as feed to the sharks.”
“I really like Amy. I wouldn’t hurt her – not on purpose.”
“Then go to the deck and talk to her. You two are good together.”
“What about
